Shakhtar’s match with Dnepr-1 was extended due to air raid alerts
Head coach Shakhtar Marino Pusic said that it was difficult for his team to achieve a result in the match with Dneprom-1 due to a large number of air alerts.
“Today it wasn’t about the game. I will say this because when you have to play in such conditions, it is undoubtedly very difficult for both teams. I would like to note that I am very proud of my players coming out today, because we have already completed the double, had a fantastic European campaign and still fulfilled our football duty, which we did quite well. But this is not about the game, there is no point in talking about the game at all.”
“Circumstances are difficult for all of us and we should be happy to be able to play football, but when we are already playing, it would be better not to have breaks because such long matches are very difficult for everyone. And this, of course, does not have a very good effect on football. I think it would be useful to think about the conditions in which you have to play, if, unfortunately, this is the situation now. We need to reconsider the issue of where matches will be held, because this is not good for football as a whole, I think everyone understands and agrees with this.”
“But I have to commend both teams again for playing so long and trying to win and compete with each other. So kudos to both teams and big kudos to my players who have already achieved everything but still fought to win this game under these circumstances. And also the opponents, they also had to play in the same conditions. And I hope that the Federation will find a solution to this issue: perhaps we need to play in areas where there are not so many worries, because I will say again: it is almost impossible to require players to perform in such conditions.”
“I don’t know about the situation in Dnepr-1, I’m sorry if that’s the case. When a club is in financial trouble it is always very difficult for the players and staff. Of course, we are also working on resolving issues for next year on the transfer market, but I don’t know yet whether this will concern the Dnepr-1 players.”
“VAR is very good. We all want greater clarity and fairness in football, but technology is not the only solution. I think it’s good that there is VAR, but the decision is still made by a person. This is an interpretation of the situation, so the result is not always ideal, I understand that. I also sometimes do not completely agree with this interpretation, but in my opinion, having VAR is very good, the system helps to re-watch the episodes anyway. But again, this is the referee’s version, only now they can actually see the details in slow motion.”
“But I have to say something: it would be more helpful if VAR had someone involved who really understands the situation on the pitch, because if you stop VAR at any point, the episode can look terrible, but if you really You understand the situation, you review it again, you see that there is no such big problem. I think it’s a useful system, it’s an interpretation, and I hope it gets clearer and better in the future. That’s why I’m fine with VAR. And I would like to have a goal detection system, if possible, to see if the ball went over the line, if there was a goal, etc. I believe that all these things help football to be a transparent game.
“And I’ll tell you one thing that I wanted to have is 100% clear playing time, so that there are no more delays, delays, long waits. No, absolutely clear playing time – 45 or 40 minutes, it doesn’t matter, this would also help football a lot. So hopefully this will be the next step for football in the future.”
“This is like a super league for me, like an innovation. This makes it possible to play more matches in the Champions League, which is good for clubs. I, of course, do not agree with the system, because five Champions Leagues are combined in one league. Okay, I understand that this is for efficiency, but I don’t know how to feel about it. It’s nice to have more matches, but we still need to see how it will work, and this can only be known after the season, then it will become clear.”
Shakhtar drew with Dnepr-1 in the penultimate round of the Ukrainian Premier League (1:1). The match dragged on for a long time due to air raid warnings.
Pusic’s team previously became champions ahead of schedule and won the Ukrainian Cup. In the final round, Shakhtar will meet Polissya on May 25.
Source: Sportarena
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